Department for Transport

Driving under Influence

Earl Attlee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect that data relating to the reduction in the maximum legal blood alcohol concentration levels for drivers in Scotland will be sufficient to inform a decision in respect of legal limits for drivers in England and Wales.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government has no plans to change the legal blood alcohol limit for driving in England and Wales. If and when an evaluation about the impact of the changed limit in Scotland is conducted we would of course consider it, however we believe that rigorous enforcement and serious penalties for drink drivers are a more effective deterrent than changing the drink driving limit.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 13 June (HL424), whether another country’s failure to recognise dual citizenship impedes the UK from offering consular assistance to an individual whose fundamental rights are being violated.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Dual citizenship is allowed in the UK and we respect the rights of Britons who choose to have dual nationality in the UK or overseas. However we acknowledge that many countries do not accept dual nationality, or allow it in the same way as the UK.The consular assistance we offer to dual British nationals overseas depends on where they are and their circumstances.We do not normally offer support to dual nationals who are in the country of their other nationality, however we consider each case on the circumstances and we may make exceptions if there are special humanitarian reasons to do so.In countries where dual nationality is not recognised we offer assistance and lobby for consular access, but the other country has the right to refuse to grant such access.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Soil: Science

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many undergraduate courses leading to a formal qualification are provided in (1) soil biology, (2) soil chemistry, and (3) combined soil biology and chemistry, and how many students were enrolled in each course at the beginning of the 2015–16 academic year.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: Information on enrolments at UK Higher Education Institutions is collected and published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), and the latest academic year for which data are available is 2014/15.The Joint Academic Coding System (JACS) is the classification of subjects used by HESA. Soil biology and Soil chemistry are not separate subject classifications in the JACS system; the closest classification is Soil science.The latest data for 2014/15, suggest there were fewer than 10 full-person equivalent undergraduate students studying Soil science at a single UK Higher Education Institution - the University of Aberdeen.Soil science has a Joint Academic Coding System (JACS) code of F770. This is a detailed level code and some universities may occasionally allocate students to more general codes.

Department for International Development

St Helena: Airports

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who was responsible for the delay in opening the St Helena airport for commercial air services.

Baroness Verma: The commencement of commercial air services into St Helena Airport has been delayed due to wind shear and turbulence identified on the northern approach. Wind shear is an unpredictable phenomenon experienced at a number of airports around the world.

St Helena: Airports

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to consider compensation claims from those who can prove they have incurred losses due to the delay in the St Helena airport becoming operational.

Baroness Verma: This is a matter for the St Helena Government and to our knowledge no claims for compensation have been received.

St Helena: Airports

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect regular commercial air services to operate from St Helena airport.

Baroness Verma: A number of options are being explored. The aim is to establish scheduled services once an operator is identified and regulatory conditions are met.

RMS St Helena

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they propose to reinstate RMS St Helena for passenger services, and if so, when and for how long.

Baroness Verma: In order to retain access for the people of St Helena, the St Helena Government has extended the services of the RMS St Helena for a further period beyond its previously planned service end date of July 2016. This is until September 2016 in the first instance but will be kept under review.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the investment case prepared by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria ahead of its replenishment conference taking place in Montreal on 16 September.

Baroness Verma: The investment case projects that a successful replenishment will enable the Global Fund to save 8 million lives and avert up to 300 million new infections over the replenishment period 2017-2019.The UK wishes to see a successful replenishment; the final decision on a UK contribution is yet to be made and will depend on a multitude of factors, including the outcome of DFID’s Multilateral Aid Review to be published later in the summer and discussions between the Chancellor and Secretary of State.

Department for Education

Grammar Schools: Admissions

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they propose to take to ensure that 11-plus examinations for entry to existing and proposed grammar schools are free from any bias that would adversely impact on children from Pakistani or Caribbean backgrounds.

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take steps to suspend 11-plus examinations for entry to grammar schools in Buckinghamshire until there is clarity about the reasons for the findings by Local, Equal, Excellent that children of Pakistani and Caribbean origins are being disproportionately excluded from grammar schools in that area.

Lord Nash: The School Admissions Code requires school admission arrangements to be ‘fair, clear and objective’. It further requires that ‘admission authorities must ensure that their arrangements will not disadvantage unfairly, either directly or indirectly, a child from a particular social or racial group’.Those who consider an admission policy, including a selection test, breaches the School Admissions Code can submit an objection to the independent Schools Adjudicator. If the Adjudicator agrees that the policy is unfair or otherwise breaches the Code she can require schools to amend their admission arrangements.

Education

Lord Smith of Clifton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) 14-year-olds, and (2) 15-year-olds, are enrolled full-time at (a) general further education colleges, and (b) university technology colleges, for the latest year for which figures are available.

Lord Nash: Based on an analysis of the 2015/16 Individualised Learner Record returns made by colleges, there were 631 14-year-old and 511 15-year-old full time students on approved 14-16 direct enrolment programmes studying high-quality vocational qualifications alongside general qualifications including English and mathematics within the Key Stage 4 curriculum.In addition, there were 154 14-year-old and 613 15-year-old full time students predominantly studying Level 3 qualifications in further education colleges.According to data from the January 2015 school census, there were 1,994 14-year-old and 1,319 15-year-old full time students enrolled at university technical colleges in England.

School Leaving

Lord Smith of Clifton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the latest estimate of how many 17-year-olds in England are failing to meet the duty to participate in education and training.

Lord Nash: The latest National Statistics relating to participation in education and training by 16–18 year olds relate to the end of 2014, before the point at which the duty to participate in education or training was extended to 17 year olds (in June 2015). We therefore do not currently hold National Statistics which estimate how many 17 year olds in England are failing to meet the duty to participate in education and training. Figures for the end of 2015, which will include an approximation for those failing to meet the duty, will be published on 30 June 2016.Local authorities collect their own data on young people’s participation, including data on those that meet the duty to participate. Figures relating to December 2015 for young people aged 16 or 17 are published on GOV.UK and are attached.However, due to incomplete coverage of young people outside the state funded school system and differing approaches in local authorities, this does not provide an accurate national estimate.  



Proportion in education and training: December16
(Excel SpreadSheet, 352 KB)

Social Services: Birmingham

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 9 June (HL350), what discussions they have had with Birmingham City Council about the consequences if it decides not to create a Trust to deliver its children's social care functions, in particular regarding whether the Secretary of State plans to issue a Statutory Direction requiring the Council to do so.

Lord Nash: The Department for Education is currently in discussions with Birmingham City Council about the development of a Trust model. The Council is planning to implement this model voluntarily. The Council is aware of the Department’s publically-stated policy that children’s social care services will be removed from the control of councils in cases of persistent or systemic failure, including through the use of a statutory direction where necessary. The Prime Minister made clear, in December, that poorly performing children’s services must improve or they will be taken over by experts. Therefore if the Council is judged to be inadequate by Ofsted again in the future, and does not continue to co-operate in voluntarily transferring its children’s social care services into a Trust, the Government will take action to enforce a Trust if required.

Social Services: Children

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 9 June (HL351), what consideration they are giving to (1) the issuing of guidance on the establishment of children's social care trusts so that lessons can be learned from earlier experiences of doing so; and (2) the regulatory implications for such bodies if more local authorities establish them given the regulatory arrangements in place for the outsourcing of adult social care.

Lord Nash: The evaluations of Doncaster and Slough Children’s Services Trusts are underway and will provide learning from the experiences of establishing those organisations. There are no new regulatory implications for trusts. Where a trust is created to carry out children’s social care services on behalf of an authority, the statutory responsibility for those services remains with that authority. Ofsted will continue to inspect children’s social care services whether they are delivered by a local authority or by a trust.

Social Services: Birmingham

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 9 June (HL353), whether Birmingham City Council could continue with an updated Improvement Plan after 2017 if a new Ofsted inspection reveals satisfactory improvements since the last inspection in March 2014.

Lord Nash: If Ofsted find that Birmingham City Council have improved to the point where their children’s social care services are no longer inadequate, they will be removed from Department for Education intervention. At this point, the Department will continue to provide supervision and support to ensure that improvements remain on track.

Social Services: Children

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 9 June (HL354), how long it took to set up the Trusts in Kingston-upon-Thames and Slough; what were the costs of setting up those Trusts; and who bore those costs.

Lord Nash: Slough Borough Council was issued with a Statutory Direction in October 2014, which required the Council to cooperate in setting up a Trust. The Trust became operational in October 2015. The Department for Education met the costs of setting up the trust, which came to £3.3m.Achieving for Children is a community interest company owned and established by the councils of Kingston-Upon-Thames and Richmond. The Department does not hold information about the total costs of setting up this company but Achieving for Children received grant funding of £500,000 from the Department of Communities and Local Government and £105,605 of professional advice and support from the Cabinet Office Mutuals Support Programme.

Social Services: Birmingham

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the current Commissioner for Birmingham City Council's children's social care services started work; how long his appointment is for; what progress reports he has provided to the Secretary of State; and whether those reports are in the public domain.

Lord Nash: Andrew Christie was appointed Commissioner for children’s social care services in Birmingham in December 2015. The statutory Direction that appointed him lasts until September 2016. He reports regularly to the Secretary of State. These reports are not in the public domain.

Ministry of Defence

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the Watchkeeper Programme to achieve Initial Operating Capability 2, previously expected to be achieved by April, and when they now expect Equipment Support Systems to be released to service.

Earl Howe: It is expected that the Watchkeeper programme will declare Initial Operating Capability 2 standard by July 2016. An initial set of release to service recommendations for the Watchkeeper system at Equipment Standard 2 should be provided by March 2017. This will provide sufficient clearance for the Army to fly the Watchkeeper system in that configuration and support delivery of Full Operating Capability by the target date of April 2017.

Home Office

Female Genital Mutilation

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether female genital mutilation campaigns are reaching communities outside London.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.We will not stop FGM until we have changed attitudes within communities. The Government works closely with a range of community organisations, faith groups and survivors through the Government’s FGM Unit. The FGM Unit carries out an ongoing programme of outreach with local community groups and professionals across England and Wales.In 2014 we funded 29 community engagement projects across England and Wales, including a network of community champions, who are reaching thousands of women and girls who may be affected by FGM, and, importantly, their families.In addition, the Department of Health’s £4m prevention programme is carrying out a range of work to improve the NHS response across England, and the Department for Education is providing up to £2m through its Innovation fund for work by the National FGM Centre to improve the social care response throughout England.

Syria: Refugees

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the EU–Turkey deal on the safety and security of Syrian refugees.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is committed to the successful implementation of the EU/ Turkey migration deal. The numbers of migrants arriving at Greek islands has significantly reduced since this deal came into effect and it is making genuine difference to managing the flows of migration; preventing people from dying in attempting the crossing or putting themselves in the hands of smugglers. Turkey is already hosting over 2.7 million Syrian refugees all of whom are provided with access to healthcare, education and the labour market.We are also pleased to note that the recent agreements Turkey has reached with the European Commission and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in providing them with access to the Düziçi Camp and Kirklareli Removal Centre. The UK continues to work with Turkey to deliver further improvements to their immigration and asylum services.In addition, the UK is contributing £250 million towards the 3 billion Euros Turkey Refugee Facility agreed by all EU Member States to help Turkey address the consequences of the Syria conflict. Our support will fund schools, hospitals and housing to meet the needs of refugees.

Asylum

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of asylum applications were accepted over the past 12 months.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In the year ending March 2016, there were 33,713 initial decisions on asylum applications from main applicants and dependants. Of these decisions, 37% (12,410) were grants of asylum or an alternative form of protection.The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on asylum applications and initial decisions within the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics January to March 2016, is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2016.

HM Treasury

Taxation: Charities

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what regulatory impact assessment they have conducted in relation to the implementation of the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters via the OECD Common Reporting Standard, and what were the conclusions of that assessment with regard to its effect on charities and their grant recipients.

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the costs of compliance for charities in implementing the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters via the OECD Common Reporting Standard compared with the intended benefits for the taxpayer.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: A full impact assessment for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) was published at Budget 2015 in a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN). HMRC has estimated that between 500 and 8,000 of the more than 165,000 charities in the UK could be affected by the CRS. Precise estimates of the overall cost are difficult to make given the upfront costs to charities is still uncertain. There has been no assessment of the impact on grant recipients. Including charities is vital to create true transparency in the international tax system, which ultimately benefits taxpayers through reduced tax evasion and avoidance. In the UK the charity sector is well regulated, but this is not the case elsewhere around the world. If another jurisdiction excluded charities this would allow a simple method for evaders to escape reporting –significantly impacting the UK's inbound data and hence the predicted yield from the CRS. As signatories to this global standard, the UK has agreed to the definitions that will include charities where they have predominantly investment income. To make the CRS an effective tool in tackling evasion, and show the benefits to the UK taxpayer, the UK must adhere to the global standard – including on charities - in order that we can expect our international partners to do likewise. Automatic exchange agreements are expected to raise over £0.5 billion over the five-year scorecard period. This amount has been updated from the original TIIN after a review by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Department of Health

Stem Cells

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 31 March 2011 (WA 298–9) and by Lord Prior of Brampton on 24 March (HL7011), whether it is a condition of any licence granted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority that a sample of the stem cell lines derived must be deposited in the UK Stem Cell Bank either prior to or pursuant to publication; if not, why not; and if so, when each of the five human embryonic stem cell lines derived from blastocysts following pronuclear transfer as described in Nature (doi:10.1038/nature18303) were accordingly deposited.

Lord Prior of Brampton: It is a condition of all research licences granted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) that a sample of any stem cell line derived under that research project is deposited in the UK Stem Cell Bank. The HFEA has advised that it is not, therefore, necessary for a licence to additionally specify that any sample be deposited either prior to or pursuant to any publication about the derivation of stem cells under that project. It is a requirement of the UK Stem Cell Bank that applicants provide copies of any published scientific papers related to the derivation and/or characterisation of the stem cell line. The process for depositing cell lines in the UK Stem Cell Bank is a matter for the Bank itself to determine.

Kidney Cancer

Baroness Cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how England compares with other European countries in (1) one, (2) five, and (3) 10-year survival rates for patients diagnosed with metastatic kidney cancer.

Lord Prior of Brampton: No formal assessment has been made. Although cancer survival rates are at a record high and continue to improve, we know that we have to strive to be better. The independent Cancer Taskforce report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A strategy for England 2015-2020, published in July last year, recommends improvements across the cancer patient pathway. A copy of the report is attached. NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to deliver the Cancer Taskforce’s recommendations. An implementation plan, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: Taking the strategy forward, was published on 12 May 2016 and we hope to see great progress as it is delivered. A copy of the implementation plan is attached.



A strategy for England
(PDF Document, 4.91 MB)




Taking the strategy forward
(PDF Document, 577.11 KB)

Hepatitis: Drugs

Lord Mancroft: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether procurement exercises have taken place to reduce the prices paid by the NHS for new hepatitis C medicines.

Lord Mancroft: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether savings realised through the procurement exercises for hepatitis C medicines were taken into account by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in its cost modelling in technology appraisals 363, 364 and 365.

Lord Mancroft: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the procurement exercises for hepatitis C medicines have resulted in lower costs to the NHS of hepatitis C medicines than those costs which informed the guidance set out in technology appraisals 363, 364 and 365 published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department’s Commercial Medicines Unit manages, on behalf of English National Health Service secondary care, a tender strategy which establishes framework agreements for hepatitis C medicines under which prices are set. This programme commenced in August 2015 and has resulted in ongoing price reductions. In developing its recommendations on the use of daclatasvir (TA364) and ombitasvir–paritaprevir–ritonavir with or without dasabuvir (TA365) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) took into account the prices that had been agreed by the Commercial Medicines Unit at the time NICE’s guidance was being developed as the companies provided this information as part their evidence submissions to NICE. For the appraisal of ledipasvir-sofosbuvir for chronic hepatitis C (TA363), the company did not submit the equivalent information as evidence for consideration in the appraisal and NICE’s recommendations are based on the published list price for the drug. As a result of subsequent procurement exercises, these drugs may be available to the NHS at lower prices than when NICE developed its technology appraisal guidance.